Monterey Mirror Maze Laser Challenge

Road Journals Blog—After kayaking on the bay, my boyfriend and I explored Cannery Row. The Monterey Mirror Maze, a colorful collection of disorienting mirrors outfitted with flashing strobes to further the confusion, was our first stop. I’ve loved mazes since conquering one in Prague, but my boyfriend was not a fan and refused, citing claustrophobia and “just not wanting to” as excuses. Instead we attempted Mirror Maze’s heist challenge, perfect for anyone wanting to make like Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment.

The challenge involves weaving your way as quickly as possible through a darkened room filled with green lasers, set up to mimic the intricate trip wiring primarily found protecting precious artifacts in movie museums. I watched a kid fly through it (they display your movements to the waiting room via television monitor) before I was convinced that I could demolish that little kid’s time. I was wrong. Scooting my body underneath the lights like an inchworm isn’t nearly as successful a technique as the movies would have you believe. It has potential to lose its novelty quickly unless you’re under 14 or fiercely competitive, in which case you can lose precious minutes of your life trying to convince strangers there’s no way you tripped that wire in the middle.